Jeremy Lin era suffers first defeat, 89-85 to Hornets

Hornets win their third in a row, 89-85, and the Knicks' seven-game winning streak comes to an end. Trevor Ariza led the way for New Orleans with 25 points on 10-for-20 shooting, including four three-pointers. Rookie Gustavo Ayon had his second double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Jeremy Lin and Amar'e Stoudemire led all scorers with 26 points for the Knicks. Lin shot 8-for-18 and had a career-high nine turnovers, but only one in the second half as the Knicks rallied from 14 points down in the first half but could never seize the lead. Lin also had five assists and four steals.

10:31 p.m.: Steve Novak and Landry Fields miss open three-point shots with 15.4 seconds left. Hornets get two free throws from Jarrett Jack to make it 89-82.

10:29 p.m.: Marco Belinelli hits both free throws for the Hornets to make it a two-possession game with 25.3 seconds left. They lead 87-82.

10:27 p.m.: Lin hits two free throws. 85-82 with 27.2 seconds left. Lin has eight points in the fourth quarter and only one turnover in the second half.

10:24 p.m.: Lin tries to force it on a drive, airballs a scoop shot and the Hornets get the ball. Greivis Vasquez gets fouled and hits 1 of 2 free throws to put the Hornets up 85-80 with 33.2 seconds left.

10:23 p.m.: Gustavo Ayon cuts, gets hit with a pass over the top by Chris Kaman for an uncontested layup to put the Hornets up 84-40.

10:20 p .m. : Lin and Tyson Chandler trap Greivis Vasquez on the inbounds. Lin gets the steal and gets fouled on the drive. He hits both free throws to trim it to 82-80.

10:15 p .m. Marco Belinelli banks in a jumper to give the Hornets an 80-75 lead, but Lin responds by getting to the rim for a layup.

10:13 p.m. The Hornets are having 7-foot center Chris Kaman step out high on the screen-and-rolls to make it difficult for Lin to get off his jump shot. Lin misses a three-pointer that could've tied the score at 78 with Trevor Ariza on the challenge.

10:08: The Knicks were on a 12-2 run until Hornets rookie Gustavo Ayon drives hard to the basket, gets the layup and the foul. His free throw makes it 76-71.

10:01 p.m.: Trevor Ariza gets his third steal on a bad pass from Iman Shumpert that leads to a breakaway dunk to give the Hornets a 73-66 lead. Shumpert hits a jumper to cut it to five. And Jared Jeffries, who is not a scorer, hits a mid-range jumper. The Knicks have rallied to 73-70 with the stage set for Lin, who is ready to check back in the game with 5:29 left. He's at the scorer's table.

9:57 p.m. Iman Shumpert hits a three-pointer and Amar'e Stoudemire hits a mid-range jumper to cut it to 71-66 for the Knicks. Lin has been out for the last three minutes.

9:43 p.m.: Iman Shumpert, who handles the ball for the Knicks in Lin's place, immediately commits a turnover that leads to a fast-break dunk for Trevor Ariza. 71-59, Hornets lead.

9:52 p.m.: Lin goes to the bench at 11:49 of the fourth quarter with his team trailing 68-59.

9:49 p.m.: Hornets lead 68-58 after three quarters. And they're doing this without starting center Emeka Okafor (knee) and backup forward Jason Smith (concussion). Both teams shooting similar percentages from the field. New Orleans is at 43.3 with New York 42.6. But the Hornets have made 7 of 10 three-pointers. The Knicks have made just 3 of 16. Plus, the Hornets have turned 18 turnovers by the Knicks into 20 points. Lin has nine of them.

9:47 p.m.: Lin buries a three-pointer cut cut the deficit to 66-58. He's made 2 of 3 from long range and has 18 points to tie Amar'e Stoudemire for the team-high.

9:42 p .m.: The Knicks desperately need a third scorer to emerge. Amar'e Stoudemire and Jeremy Lin are their only offense with 3:07 left in the third. Greivis Vasquez's three-pointer puts the Hornets up again by double digits 63-51.

9:34 p.m.: Trevor Ariza, a 27.7% shooter from three-point range coming into the game vs. New York, gives Hornets 56-46 lead with another three. He's 3-for-4 for the game.

9:32 p.m: Lin follows his first three-pointer of the game with a turnover, overthrowing Amar'e Stoudemire on his roll to the basket. He's got a career-high nine turnovers. 53-46, Hornets lead.

9:11 p.m.: Hornets have never trailed as they go into t he half leading 43-39. Lin has 10 points on 3-for-7 shooting but eight turnovers. The Knicks have 14. Trevor Ariza leads the Hornets with 12 points and Chris Kaman has 10. Amar'e Stoudemire of the Knicks leads all scorers with 14.

9:09 p.m. Lin has another turnover, his eighth, that leads to a run out by the Hornets and a layup by Marco Belinelli 43-37.

9:07 p.m.: Lin alley oops Landry Fields for a dunk that electrifies the crowd -- the highlight of the half -- but Trevor Ariza responds with a three-pointer to silence the rally 41-37.

9:03 p.m. A 14-point lead by the Hornets has been trimmed to 39-35. The pace has increased, which the Knicks would prefer, and the Hornets have missed some easy baskets that have allowed the Knicks to get out on the break. Lin has eight points, four assists and two steals.

9:02 p.m. Lin earns seventh turnover, but this one wasn't his fault. He drove, drew the defense and hit Amar'e Stoudemire in his hands for what would've been an easy dunk but Stoudemire mishandled it.

9:00 p.m.: Lin gets consecutive assists to Amar'e Stoudemire for layups 37-31. He's pushed the pace and sped up the game. When it's a halfcourt game, he hasn't been nearly as effective vs. the Hornets. Stoudemire has 14 points.

8:51 p.m.: Lin stripped on his drive to the basket. Greivis Vasquez hits a transition three-pointer to stretch the Hornets lead back to double digits, 32-21. Lin's turnovers (6) match his points (6).

8:50: Lin hits a mid-range jumper to cut the deficit to 29-21. He has four points in the second quarter.

8:46 p.m.: Lin is getting to the rim but isn't quite finishing the way he has previously. But Amar'e Stoudemire is knocking down the mid-range jumper. He has eight points as the Knicks have cut the deficit to 29-19.

8:43 p.m.: Lin starts the second quarter, pushes the fast break for a layup to make it 27-15.

8:40 p.m. After Chris Kaman's free throws, Hornets end the quarter on an 8-0 run for a 27-13 lead to take the Madison Square Garden crowd completely out of this game.

8:35 p.m.: The Hornets are the second-worst scoring team in the NBA at 87.2 points per game coming into tonight. After the timeout, Lin is on the bench for the rest of the quarter.

8:33 p.m.: Chris Kaman hits another jumper to give Hornets at 23-13 lead in the firt quarter. Lin commits his fifth turnover. The Knicks have seven. Hornets are shooting 62.5% from the field.

8:30 p.m.: Lin hits his first basket, a 15-footer, to cut the Hornets' lead to 19-12 at 3:53.

8:26 p.m.: Hornets may not have a good record but that's because they've lacked offense. Their defense is their strength, and they're holding the Knicks to 36.4% shooting. Hornets have made all three three-point attempts to lead 15-8. Lin is 0-for-2 shooting.

8:21 p.m.: Less than five minutes in, Lin has three of the Knicks' four turnovers as they trail 12-4.

8:17 p.m.: Lin commits his second turnover. 0-for-1 from field. Hornets center Chris Kaman hits first two shots as his team leads 9-4.

8:14 p.m.: First two possessions for the Knicks are turnovers, the last one by Lin.

8:11 p.m.: Greivis Vasquez, Jack's backup, will start at point guard for New Orleans and have the Lin assignment first.

8:08 p.m.: Before the tipoff, Hornets point guard Jarrett Jack, who is returning from injury and will match up with Lin, said: "You have no choice but to root for him. So many times a lot of us have been underdog in many situations."

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About Reid and Mike

Reid Cherner has been with USA TODAY since 1982 and written Game On! since March 2008.

He has covered everything from high schools to horse racing to the college and the pros. The only thing he likes more than his own voice is the sound of readers telling him when he's right and wrong.

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